Run to Me
by lighthope
Summary: Hermione's trying to move on after her fiancé's death. Harry's ready to take his place. Hermione wants to move on. They both know she's not ready. Harry tells her that whenever she's ready, he'll be there. Songfic to Clay Aiken's Run to Me


Some author's notes…

Hello to all you Harry Potter readers! =D This is my second HP fic. And another songfic, at that. (I think all my planned HP fics are songfics right now.) If you want to read my first one, it's called "Take Me Away." Anyway…

-This fic is set about… oh, five, six years after the gang (Harry, Ron, Hermione, etc, etc) graduate from Hogwarts.

-It's not too long, but I hope it's good. =D

-The song is by Clay Aiken (yes! He's so cool!), and it's called, as you probably can guess, "Run to Me."

-The worst part about writing fanfic is having to admit they're not yours. But you knew that, right? I am not the proud owner of anything even remotely associated with Harry Potter, except the books that I have bought and this calendar we use as a phone message pad. (Don't ask.) But you know what I mean…

-Enjoy the story! And please review!!! (Good, constructive criticism welcome; flames will be used to warm my bed at night. =D)

-P.S.: Sorry Ron fans! But I had to do what I did for the sake of my story.

*

Run to Me

          "Mione? You called?"

          The sight that greets me is, well, heartbreaking. Hermione Granger, my best friend for thirteen years, is sitting silently in her flat, staring blankly at the pieces of paper in front of her, tears falling from her cinnamon eyes. I assume she's been trying to play on the Muggle instrument known as the piano—she'd taken it up lately, as a way to help her cope, she had told me. But I see now that it isn't helping her at all.

          Her tear-filled eyes look up at me. "Oh, Harry… thank you for coming. I just… I just need someone right now."

          I squat in front of her. "What do you want me to do?"

          "Just hold me." I do as she asks, sitting on the piano bench next to her and enveloping her in my strong arms. Having her this close to me, breathing in the scent of her raspberry shampoo… it is difficult. It has always been difficult, watching my two best friends fall in love and realizing why Ron had fallen for her… but it made it even more difficult when he died, seven months ago. Ron Weasley and Hermione had been engaged only for two months when the final battle took place. He fought so valiantly, right by my side, until the end. Voldemort was going to make him watch me die, but Ron wouldn't let him. "No! You're not going to kill him!" And then by some unknown source of energy, Ron charged at him. Voldemort just cackled and said the last two words Ron ever heard before a flash of green light ripped through him and he landed, his blue eyes in the saddest expression of shock I'd ever seen in all the victims of the Killing Curse I have been subjected to see. And believe me, there have been a lot.

I hope the spell wasn't the last two words he heard, for I was screaming my head off at him, part angry at him for not thinking, and the other part of me screaming for my best friend, my brother, not to die. I have always felt some blame for my best friend's death. I still remember his parting words before we went into battle.

"If anything should happen to me, mate… take care of her for me," Ron implored.

I nodded. "You know I will. I love her as much as you do," I told him, honestly, and he knew what I meant. She—Hermione—was not only as close as a sister to me, but I realized then how much I loved her, too. How could anyone not love the intelligent beauty she had grown to be?

"Promise me," Ron asked. "Please."

"I promise. I'll watch out for her as long as I live."

Ron nodded. "Thank you. You know I'd do the same for you."

Now, as I sit here, stroking Hermione's soft, slightly bushy hair, remembering the promise I made to her first love, I sigh. "Mione, what happened?"

"I just… I was playing to drown out some of the memories, you know? And… there was this one melody I was playing, and it reminded me of the first time we danced, and…" She can't finish; she is drowning in tears. "Shh, Mione, it's okay."

"It's been a long time already, Harry. Why won't the memories leave me?"

"You can't expect a love and a relationship that lasted for years and then torn from you to just be forgotten in a few months. You of all people should know that."

Hermione looks at me with her sad eyes. "I want to move on with my life. I don't want to forget Ron, but there's nothing I can do now that he's gone. It's not like we just broke up and there might be a chance for us again. He's dead. I'll never see him smile again, hear him laugh, or even be able to yell at him without him rolling his eyes… 'cause he's gone."

I nod. A new wave of pain hits me and I sigh again. "I know."

"Oh…" She looks at me, realizing the impact of her words. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

I smile wryly. "Mione, it's okay. You're allowed to vent on me. That's what I'm here for."

"But… you must be suffering too. Missing him… and… well…" A hint of a smile comes back to her, and I'm feeling better. "There is something I have to confess to you, Harry."

I look at her curiously. "Really."

"Yeah. I, uh…" She looks down, but the familiar sparkle is evident in her eyes, along with… guilt? Finally, it seems that she can't find the words—Hermione, Head Girl of our class, genius witch extraordinaire, struck speechless? The thought amuses me, and I smile slightly. I guess emotions can do that to you.

But I am totally caught off guard when I find her lips on mine, hungrily searching for something to fill the emptiness inside her. A million things are going through my mind—euphoria, a feeling of betrayal to Ron's memory, confusion, fear, happiness, even a hint of the animal instincts that come with every normal male—but I pull away abruptly. "What… where did that come from?"

Hermione looks about as shocked as I do. "I… I'm sorry, Harry. I just… you know, you have always been close to my heart."

I nod, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Before the battle, I was even questioning my feelings for you. I know it's wrong, considering that Ron's gone… but I wasn't thinking then, that he could be gone. I didn't want to hurt him, but there was something about you drawing me to you… and…" She smiles faintly. "I can kind of tell the feeling is mutual."

My eyes widen. "Am I that obvious?"

"Maybe not. But I am one of your best friends. I can read you like a book, Harry, and even if you try to keep your emotions in check, your eyes are very expressive. And beautiful."

"Oh, Mione…" Knowing now that feelings—at least mine, anyway, if not all of hers—are in the open, and where we stand, I stroke her hair lovingly. She smiles, but I can tell there's something behind that enamored expression that brings back a memory of some sort. The pain is still too strong for her.

"I was wondering…" she begins, but I stop her. "Shh," I tell her, putting a finger to her lips. "You don't have to say anything. You don't have to do anything right now. You're not ready."

(_Don't_

_You don't have to save my life_

_No_

_You're not ready; I can feel it_

_Outside it's raining, but I'll just go home_

_Someday your heart will just let him go_

She nods. "I guess you're right. But… I know you've had to suffer through seeing Ron and me together… I guess a part of us didn't really think about you, even though you still are our—my—best friend." Hermione sighs at the slip-up. "This is just my way of making it up to you. Are you sure you're okay?"

I laugh. "Of course. I'd rather wait than pressure you into something you're not ready for. You need to heal still. You can't expect to just forget about Ron. I don't expect you to forget him at all. But you're surrounded by his memory. Time will heal you, Mione. The pain will go away… just give it time."

_Hush_

_You don't have to say a word_

_Trust_

_I'm not gonna hate you for it_

_Feels like my touch only brings back the pain_

_Someday those memories will fade away_

"Will you be there to help me heal?" she asks, suddenly, in the fragile, little-girl expression I saw in her when we were eleven, so many years ago, and she was trapped in the girls' bathroom, a troll attacking her in what she thought was a sanctuary.

I kiss her forehead. "Of course. Just call when you need me." I stand, preparing to leave.

"You're going already?"

"I have to, Mione. You need your space and time to recover. I'll be here for you, but I know I can't do it all for you. I can't give you what you need right now." I look over at the window, where it's pouring. I don't want to leave her here, in the most miserable type of weather—for me, anyway—but I know I have to. As I walk up to the fireplace, I grab a handful of powder, with the consistency of sand, and then turn to the beautiful woman looking back at me. "But when you feel you're ready," I say, and then grin, "I'll be here."

_As soon as you get that feeling you can start to live again_

_As soon as the worst is over,_

_You can make it all make sense_

_Right now I can't give you what you need_

_As soon as you get that feeling, run to me_

"I know," she whispers. "Thank you."

She looks at me with the saddest expression, like she doesn't want me to go. "Hermione, you know I can't stay. Please don't do this. It's hard enough as it is. I'm doing this for you. I love you; I don't want to hurt you in the end."

_How can I be brave enough to say goodbye?_

_I die inside without you_

_Can't you see it's hard enough to walk away?_

_Don't look at me, you make me wrong_

_I've been through this to make me strong_

Hermione's eyes widen at my declaration of love. She opens her mouth to reply, but then, I guess against her better judgment, nods in understanding. "Okay." And then she smiles at me, and my heart lifts. "Just remember, it's only a matter of time," I remind her, and then blowing her a kiss, I say, "As soon as you're ready, run to me." Then, throwing the handful of dust into the fire, I proclaim my destination, and in a whirlwind of flame and movement, Hermione disappears from my eyes. It's hard for me to leave her, but I know that in the end, it's the best for all of us. Until then… I'll give her all the time she needs, because I know that she'll come to me when she's ready.

_As soon as you get that feeling you can start to live again_

_As soon as the worst is over,_

_You can make it all make sense_

_Right now I can't give you what you need_

_As soon as you get that feeling…_

_As soon as you get that feeling, run to me)_

Hope you liked that! If you thoroughly enjoyed that, be glad to know that I have two more H/Hr songfics (one is currently being written; the other is still an idea) planned. The one that's written is kind of a prequel to my first one, "Take Me Away," and the other one is going to be kind of like a sequel to this one, but not really. I mean, you can read either of them (this one that you just read and the other one, which will probably be titled "Perfect Day") without reading the other. But they work as a series, too. Aaugh, you know what I'm talking about. If I stop talking, will you review? =D hehe… just kidding. But seriously… I love reviews. Make me happy, will you?


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